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5 Ways to Minimize Small Business Risks

If you’ve always dreamed of running your own business and you’re just a few weeks away from opening up your doors, that’s great news! There’s nothing like the independence and freedom that comes with being the head of your own company. At the same time, being that well over half of all new businesses fail within the first five years, it’s important that you are aware of some of the risks that come with having a small business so that you can know how to avoid them.

If you’d like a few helpful tips on this topic, here are five that can make starting your business and earning a profit a lot easier to do:

Manage your cash wisely. There is no way that you’re going to be able to keep your business going, let alone earn a profit, if you don’t make sure to manage your money wisely. There are a few things that you can do be financially stable. Open up a business account. Put your earnings back into your business. Don’t get a loan unless you absolutely need it. Don’t solely rely on your credit cards (they incur interest). Also, when doing online banking, it’s important that you protect your business account as much as possible from hackers and identity theft. You can learn some tips on how to do that by going to Naked Security and putting “safer online banking” in the search field.

Choose qualified employees. You can have the best product or service in the world, but if you do not offer impeccable customer service, it’s not going to matter much. That’s why you shouldn’t rush when it comes to the hiring process. Choose individuals who are qualified, skilled, and friendly. Also look for character traits that prove they are trustworthy and reliable.

Do extensive training. If you were to ask some of the most successful CEOs of companies about something that they do to make sure their business is productive on a constant basis, something that they might tell you is they make sure that their staff gets extensive training – including cross-training. That way, should someone call in sick or even quit without notice, there’s someone else who can do their job.

Get some insurance. Say that you decided to ask someone who works for a financial company like Chartwell Compliance about something else that you should do in order to minimize risks at your business. Something that they might say is that it’s important to get some general liability insurance. It helps to protect you should someone injure themselves at your place of business. Plus, it also can cover the costs of damaged items too. You can read more about general liability insurance by going to SBA.gov and putting “general liability insurance” in the search field.

Hire an accountant. Although you might be tempted to think that you can handle all of your expenses and tax filings on your own, not only is that a surefire way to become overwhelmed, but you also run the risk of getting audited. So definitely make sure to hire an accountant. It’s an additional expense that will ultimately save you a lot of money in the long run. For tips on how to choose a reputable accountant, visit Entrepreneur and put “how to hire an accountant” in the search field.